Standardized literacy assessments that place emphasis on testing and attainment of results have caused many students, particularly in middle years schooling to be disenfranchised by literacy teaching and learning practices. This study employed an action research methodology to investigate whether an outdoor learning experience in a Year 7/8…

Despite an intense focus on improving Australian students' writing performance in recent years, and comprehensive instructional advice to English teachers, researchers have noted a lack of gains in standardised writing tests and negative effects on student engagement and learning. In this paper we claim that these outcomes are partly attributable…

This case study examined a Romanticism unit within a Year 9 English class in Sydney, Australia. It considered whether popular culture could build connections between students' lives and Romanticism, and whether the process of remixing "high" Romantic poetry with "low" popular culture could foster student engagement. Thematic…

Discusses accounts of classroom practices which draw on socially critical literacy approaches. Outlines how the author was able to work in partnership with an academic mentor in the implementation of a unit of work on Advertising. Notes that what made this unit distinctively English was that a "culture of critique" was established which…

This is a report of a project investigating students' perceptions of the extent to which their own efforts influence their achievement at mathematics and their life opportunities. We conducted two hour interviews with over 50 students, as well as collecting other data. Even students who were confident, successful and persistent exhibited short…